DaBaby Says He's On Kendrick Lamar & J. Cole's Level

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DaBaby In Concert - Atlanta, GA
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: Rapper DaBaby performs onstage during "Rolling Loud Presents: DaBaby Live Show Killa" tour at Coca-Cola Roxy on December 04, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

DaBaby believes he's on the same level as Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.

DaBaby says that he can rap on the same caliber as any of his peers. Speaking with Math Hoffa on his My Expert Opinion podcast, DaBaby named Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole as artists he can toe to toe with on any beat.

“If I don’t feel like you know nothing about this shit, I’m not about to try and exploit my real life anyways, I’m just doing me,” Baby said. “So when it come to like pain or anything that affects me or effects somebody I love I couldn’t dealt running round god damn exploiting that shit. I can’t do it."

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: Rapper DaBaby performs onstage during "Rolling Loud Presents: DaBaby Live Show Killa" tour at Coca-Cola Roxy on December 04, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

"Ok you can put this beat on and I’ll go Eminem level on that bitch, you gotta get one of them to come fuck with me," he continued, before adding, "You gotta go get Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, I don’t wanna disrespect nobody but boy, raise your hand. I’m like that. N****s know too and I’m like that for real I don’t gotta talk about nobody else story. I’ll talk about me.”

His appearance on My Expert Opinion isn't the first time DaBaby has compared himself to Cole as well as Lamar. Speaking with Justin Credible and DJ Sour Milk back in February, he made a similar claim. He also added Jay-Z and Nas into the mix.

“Don’t get it fuckin’ twisted,” he said at the time. “I like to turn people up, I like to make people feel good, but at the same time, you gotta get Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole for me, n***a. Nas, Jay-Z. You gotta go get them ones.”

While he believes he's on the level of Lamar and Cole when it comes to artistry, DaBaby's sales of late have been nowhere close. His latest project, Baby On Baby 2, moved just 16,000 album-equivalent units after release. Additionally, the album failed to crack the top 20 on the Billboard 200.

Check out DaBaby's appearance on the My Expert Opinion podcast below.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.